Jacksonville's APR Energy undergoes management shuffle

Jackoonville-based APR Energy has announced substantial management changes at the Northside company that produces pre-fabricated electrical supply plants.

Michael Fairey, the non-executive chairman for the APR board, has stepped down from the position. In turn the board of directors has appointed John Campion to replace Fairey.

Campion, who founded APR Energy, is leaving his job as CEO to take over the board chairman’s post.

The company’s non-executive director, Baroness Denise Kingsmill said in a news release Wednesday that Campion is directly responsible for the company’s growth.

“Mr. Campion has done an excellent job as CEO of APR Energy, providing vision and leadership in guiding the group to triple-digit growth …,” Kingsmill said. “His deep strategic and operational understanding of the business, as well as his experience as a director on the board, will serve him well as our chairman.”

After a career in providing electrical systems to rock ’n’ roll tours such as The Rolling Stones in the 1980s and 1990s, Campion in 2001 went to work for Alstom Power Rentals and chose to move to Jacksonville and open an office for the company here. Then he and his partner Laurence Anderson bought out Alstom and changed the company’s name to APR Energy in 2004.

With a fleet full of mobile engines, similar to aircraft engines, the company has etched a new path in a specialized industry. Each engine is housed in what looks like a cargo container. A fleet of those containers are then shipped to the country that APR has signed a contract with and a power grid is then laid out with containers side by side. The host country or company supplies the fuel, be it diesel, natural gas or gasoline and then the power grid is laid down with lines running from the power plant into neighborhoods and communities. Some of those areas never had electricity on a regular basis or are getting electricity returned for the first time after war or a natural disaster.

APR Energy posted $2.51 billion in revenue in 2012 alone.

Anderson joined Campion in the management shift for APR Energy. Anderson is taking over Campion’s duties as CEO. Anderson had previously served as president and chief operating officer for the company.

In a separate development for the company, APR Energy announced it secured another “fast-track” power plant contract in Australia. The deal is with Horizon Power for a plant that will run for 30 months in that country, a news release said.